1.The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University or simply Oxford) isa collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. While having no known date of foundation, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096,[1]making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and the world's second-oldest surviving university.[1][6]It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.[1] After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled northeast to Cambridge, where they established what became the University of Cambridge.[7] The two "ancient universities" are frequently jointly referred to as "Oxbridge".The University is made up from a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges and a full range of academic departments which are organised into four Divisions.[8] All the colleges are self-governing institutions as part of the University, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities.[9] Being a city university, it does not have a main campus; instead, all the buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the metropolitan centre.Most undergraduate teaching at Oxford is organised around weekly tutorials at the self-governing colleges and halls, supported by classes, lectures and laboratory work provided by university faculties and departments. Oxford is the home of several notable scholarships, including the Clarendon Scholarship which was launched in 2001[10] and the Rhodes Scholarship which has brought graduate students to read at the university for more than a century.[11] Oxford operates the largest university press in the world[12] and the largest academic library system in the United Kingdom.[13]Oxford has educated many notable alumni, including 27 Nobel laureates (58 total affiliations), 26 British Prime Ministers (most recently David Cameron) and many foreign heads of state.[14]2.The University of Cambridge[note 1] (informally known as "Cambridge University" or simply "Cambridge"; abbreviated as"Cantab" in post-nominals[note 2]) isa collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's third-oldest surviving university.[5] It grew out of an association formed by scholars leaving the University of Oxford after a dispute with townsfolk;[6] the two "ancient universities" have many common features and are often jointly referred to as "Oxbridge".Cambridge is formed from a variety of institutions which include 31 constituent colleges and over 100 academic departments organised into six Schools.[7] The university occupies buildings throughout the town, many of which are of historical importance. The colleges are self-governing institutions founded as integral parts of the university. In the year ended 31 July 2013, the university had a total income of£1.44 billion, of which £332 million was from research grants and contracts. The central university and colleges have a combined endowment of around £4.9 billion, the largest of any university outside the United States.[8] Cambridge is a member of many associations, and forms part of the "golden triangle" of English universities and Cambridge University Health Partners, an academic health science centre. The university is closely linked with the development of the high-tech businesscluster known as "Silicon Fen".Students' learning involves lectures and laboratory sessions organised by departments, and supervisions provided by the colleges. The university operates eight arts, cultural, and scientific museums, including the Fitzwilliam Museum and a botanic garden. Cambridge's libraries hold a total of around 15 million books, 8 million of which are in Cambridge University Library which is a legal deposit library. Cambridge University Press, a department of the university, is the world's oldest publishing house and the second-largest university press in the world.[9][10] Cambridge is regularly placed among the world's best universities in different universityrankings.[11][12][13] Beside academic studies, student life is centred on the colleges and numerous pan-university artistic activities, sports clubs and societies.Cambridge has many notable alumni, including several eminent mathematicians, scientists, politicians, and 90 Nobel laureates have been affiliated withit.[14] Throughout its history the university has featured in literature and artistic works by numerous authors including Geoffrey Chaucer, E. M. Forster and C. P. Snow.3.The London School of Economics and Political Science (informally the London School of Economics or LSE) is a publicresearch university specialised in social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw, LSE joined the University of London in 1900 and first issued degrees to its students in1902.[4]Despite its name, LSE conducts teaching and research across a range of social sciences, as well as in mathematics, statistics, media, philosophy and history.[5]LSE is located in Westminster, central London, near the boundary between Covent Garden and Holborn in an area historically known as Clare Market. It has around9,500 full-time students and just over 3,000 staff [6] and had a total income of £263.2 million in 2012/13, of which £23.7 million was from research grants.[7] The School is organised into 24 academic departments and 19 research centres.[8][9] LSE's library, the British Library of Political and Economic Science, contains over 4 million print volumes, 60,000 online journals and 29,000 electronic books.[10] The Digital Library contains digitised material from LSE Library collections andalso born-digital material that has been collected and preserved in digital formats.[11]LSE is a global leading social sciences dedicated institution and is considered one of the most prestigious universities in the world.[12][13][14] The 2014 and the 2013 versions of the QS World University Rankings ranked LSE 2nd in the world within the macro discipline of social sciences and management, only behind Harvard University and above Oxford and Cambridge.[15] Among 12 specific subjects evaluated, QS World University Rankings puts LSE as a top ten in the world in eight, and a top three in five of them.[16]In the UK, the School is usually ranked 3rd in all domestic ranking tables.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]The School has produced many notable alumni in the fields of law, economics, philosophy, history, business, literature and politics. To date, there have been16 Nobel Prize winners amongst its alumni and current and former staff,[24] at least 37 world leaders,[25] 6 Pulitzer Prize winners[citation needed] and fellows ofthe British Academy[citation needed]. The school has produced a quarter of all Nobel prize winners in Economics.[26] Out of British universities, LSE has educated the most billionaires according to a 2014 global census of dollar billionaires. [27]LSE is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs,[28] the European University Association,[29] the G5, the Global Alliance in Management Education, the Russell Group and Universities UK.[30] It is sometimes described as forming part ofthe 'golden triangle' of British universities.[31]4Imperial College London (legally The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine)[1] is a publicresearch university located in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in science, engineering, medicine and business.[5] Aformer constituent college of the federal University of London, it became fully independent on 9 July 2007 during the commemoration of itscentenary.[6][7] Imperial has grown through mergers, including with St Mary's Hospital Medical School (in 1988), the National Heart and Lung Institute (in 1995) and the Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School (in 1997). Imperial College Business School was established in 2003.Imperial's main campus is located in the South Kensington (Albertopolis) areaof Central London, with additional campusesin Chelsea, Hammersmith, Paddington, Silwood Park and Wye College. Imperial also operates the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore in partnershipwith Nanyang Technological University. Imperial has one of the largest estates of any higher education institution in the UK.[8] Imperial is organised into four main faculties within which there are over 40 departments, institutes and research centres.[9]Imperial has around 13,500 students and 3,330 academic and research staff and had a total income of £822 million in 2012/13, of which £329.5 million was from research grants and contracts.[2][10]Imperial is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world, ranking 2nd in the 2014/15 QS World University Rankings, 9th in the 2014/15 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and 22nd in the 2014Academic Ranking of World Universities.[11][12][13] In a corporate study carried out by The New York Times, its graduates were one of the most valued in the world.[14] There are currently 15 Nobel laureates and two Fields Medalists amongst Imperial's alumni and current and former faculty.[15][16]Imperial is a major centre for biomedical research and is a founding member ofthe Francis Crick Institute and Imperial College Healthcare, an academic health science centre.[17] Imperial is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of MBAs, the European University Association, the G5, the League of European Research Universities, Oak Ridge AssociatedUniversities and the Russell Group. Along with Cambridge and Oxford, Imperial, (with KCL, the LSE and UCL) forms a corner of the "golden triangle" of British universities.[18]5.The University of St Andrews (informally known as St Andrews University or simply St Andrews; abbreviated as St And, from the Latin Sancti Andreae,in post-nominals) is a public research university in St Andrews, Fife,Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland, and the third oldest university in the English-speaking world (following Oxford and Cambridge). It was founded between 1410 and 1413 when the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII issued a Papal Bull to a small founding group of Augustinian clergy.St Andrews is made up from a variety of institutions, including three constituent colleges (United College, St Mary's College, and St Leonard's College) and 18 academic Schools organized into four Faculties.[6] The university occupies historic and modern buildings located throughout the town. The academic year is divided into two terms, Martinmas and Candlemas. In term time, over a third of the town's population is either a staff member or student of the university.[7] The student body is notably diverse: over 30% of its intake come from well over 100 countries, 15% from North America.[8] The University's sport teams competein BUCS competitions,[9] and the student body is known for preserving ancient traditions such as Raisin Weekend, May Dip, and the wear of distinctive academic dress.[10]National league tables currently rank St Andrews as the third[11][12] best university in the United Kingdom. The Schools of Physics and Astronomy, International Relations, Computer Science and Mathematics are ranked first in the United Kingdom by The Guardian.[11] International league tables rank St Andrews less highly, due in part to its small size, though The Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking names St Andrews among the world’s Top 20 Arts and Humanitiesuniversities.[13] St Andrews has the highest student satisfaction (joint first) amongst all multi-faculty universities in the United Kingdom.[14]St Andrews has many notable alumni and affiliated faculty, including eminent mathematicians, scientists, theologians, philosophers, and politicians. Recent alumni include the current First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond; Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon; United States Ambassador to Hungary Colleen Bell; Olympic gold medalist Chris Hoy; actor Crispin Bonham-Carter; and royals Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. It boastsfive Nobel Laureates: two in Chemistry and one eachin Peace, Literature and Physiology or Medicine.。